Spring 2020

The African migrants’ experience is not only reflected in the history of their movement across diverse spaces on the globe but it is also shaped by language, an important component of their identity. This course explores language as a symbolic and mobile resource with which Africans engage with, and construct their movements and interactions across global spaces. Using selected works of 21st century African literary writers such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche’s Americanah and Pius Adesanmi’s You Are Not a Country, Africa, we will examine how Africans use language to construct their experience of migration, globalization, diaspora, linguistic imperialism, sociolinguistic and cultural identifications. We will also examine the theme of travel and return, and the process by which African migrants use language as a tool to construct varied experiences across spaces of interactions.